Plurality

Definition

Plurality is Hannah Arendt's term for the fundamental human condition of action. "Plurality is the condition of human action because we are all the same, that is, human, in such a way that nobody is ever the same as anyone else who ever lived, lives, or will live." Plurality has a twofold character: equality (we can understand each other because we are all human) and distinction (each person is unique). Through speech and action, humans disclose their unique distinctness rather than being merely distinct like other animals. Plurality is "the paradoxical plurality of unique beings." It is the ontological ground of politics—without plurality, there would be no need for speech or action, only signs to communicate identical needs.

Key Thinkers

• arendt-hannah — developed the concept in The Human Condition (1958); positioned plurality as the condition of action
• (Aristotle is mentioned in the source as defining man as zōon politikon / zōon logon ekhon, but does not yet have an author page — see log.md.)

Related Concepts

• natality — each birth brings a unique being into the world; natality actualizes distinction
• vita-activa — plurality is the condition of action, one of the three activities of the vita activa
• the-social — society suppresses plurality through conformism; demands uniform behavior
• heidegger-martin — Arendt's plurality is a deliberate counterpoint to Heideggerian ontology of the singular mortal being
• (Action, speech, public-realm, uniqueness are mentioned in the source but not yet separate pages — see log.md.)

Source Support

Sources in the wiki that discuss plurality:

• arendt-1958-the-human-condition — "Human plurality, the basic condition of both action and speech, has the twofold character of equality and distinction." (p. 175)

Open Questions

• How does plurality relate to contemporary discussions of diversity and difference?
• What is the relationship between Arendtian plurality and Deleuzian multiplicity?
• Can architecture embody or enable plurality, or is architecture necessarily singular (one building)?